Excavator and method of operating same



Jan. 14, 1930. F. ELwOoD EXCAVATOR AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME Filedoct. 11. 192e :s Smets-sheet 1 Jan., 4, 1930. F. ELwooD v EXGAVATOR ANDMETHOD OF OPERATING SAME Filed OCt- 11. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 14,1930. F. ELwoo-D l,743,23

EXCAVATOR AND MTHOD OF OPERATING SAME Filed 001'" 11. 1928 3Sheets-Sheet 5 of' 27 Z Mirah/nef Patented Jan. 14, 193()V la'rsN'rrOFFICE FRANK ELWOOD, OF WEINER, ARKANSAS EXCAVATOR'AND METHOD orOPERATING SAME Application led October 11, 1928. Serial No. 311,824.

This device relates to improvements in eX- cavators and in methods ofhandling earth or other materials therewith.

In handling excavation, especially in the building of levees where largeexcavation is made below a ground surface over extensive areas, andembankments or levees built above the'samc surface ,contiguous to theexcavated area, various devices have been used, some of which form apart of the present invention. lVhat are known as drag lines have provedespecially valuable, but as widths of embankments have increased withcorresponding increase of borrow pit widths, the reach of such machineswill not allow the greater portion of the dirt to be handled in oneoperation. In order to get away from this, some of the forms of cablewaywith head vand tail towers have been used. These cableways have provedmore or less satisfactory, except that the cost of moving the head andtail towers has proved excessive partly because of the shut-down timenecessary when making such moves. The resent device contemplates using acombination of the drag line and cableway with such additions and`changes as are necessary to make such a system complete andsatisfactory. 3i) The objects of this invention are:-

cavations covering a continuous broad area may be efficiently andeconomically made and the dirt therefrom placed in a continuousembankment contiguous to the pit, which also covers a wide space;

(b) To provide means for convertlng an ordinary drag line excavator intoa head or tail tower foruse, in connection with another excavatorsilnilarly converted, whereby a madirt over considerable distances maybe made.

The means by which the foregoing and other objects are accomplished andthe method of their accomplishment will readily be understood from. thefollowing specification on reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan of my excavator showing it at workbuilding an em- 51 bankment or levee.

(a) To provide means whereby shallow ex` chine capable of excavating andtransferring Fig: 2, is an elevation taken as on the center line of theexcavator, showing the excavator bucket in the borrow pit.

Fig. 3, is a similar sectional elevation showing the excavator used as acableway. i

4ig. 4, is an enlarged side elevation of a typical drag line, lshowingthe details of construction, by which the same is made into one of theparts of my excavator.

Fig. 5, is a similarly enlarged end elevation thereof.

Referringnow to the drawings in which various parts are referred to bynumerals, 10 is the borrow pit from which excavated material is beingremoved, further extension ot this pit being indicated by the dash lines10-A. 11 is the levee or embankment being built with the excavatedmaterial. 12 and 13 are respectively, typical drag line machines of thccrawler type, each having caterpillar treads 14, a turn table 15, boomframe 16, and boom 17. 18 is the drag line bucket. 19 is a loading lineand 20 a drag line.` 21 is a tail line leading .from the rear of thebucket to the second drag line machine 13. Supportving the outer end ofthe boom in either case are two posts 22, the lower end of each of whichposts rest on a shoe 23. 24 is a cross leg spacing the shoes and holdingthem a fixed distance apart. Extending outward from the S9 front end ofthe boom frame 16 are side legs 25 which are likewise connected to theshoes 23 and which brace and position these shoes in front of themachines. It will be noted that the legs 25 are brought fairly closetogether 85 at the boom frame and are spread well apart at the shoes andthat in connection with the cross leg 24 they form substantially atriangulai` bracing for the shoes and also that they may be consideredto be 'substantially' an A 90 frame bracing the shoes away from themachine. Likewise the posts 22 form an A frame and togetherwith thecross leg 24 forma rigid triangular bracing from the shoes to the outerend of the boom. The upper ends of the posts 22 may be secured to theend of the boom by the sheave pin 26, on which the head sheave 27 ismounted or theymay be otherwise secured thereto. Preferably however,theyshould be so secured that the bottom end of the posts 06 may swingtoward or away from the boom as the latter is raised or lowered. 28 arebrackets which extend upward from the shoes 2 3 through which bracketsand' the lower ends of the posts 22, pins 29 are passed to secure theposts to the shoes. These pins may likelwise be used to secure the cross1e 24. Extension 30, of the brackets 28, may 'e used to secure the sidelegs 25 to the shoes 23 against the foot of the posts 22. The Yside legs25 are preferably secured to the boom frame 16 by the boom in 22.

Preferag l swung below the head sheave 27.

The drag line boom may be raised and lowered in the usual manner by theordinary lines provided therefor. If! however, the b oom support asherein outlined is in place such raising of the boom will raise the boomsupport and allow the same to be shifted to a new location, eitherbydirect movement accomplished with the caterpillar trucks or by swinging.movement through the turntable 15.

Ordinarily, the machines' wouldbe operated substantially as shown inFigs. 1 and 2, that is as a drag line with the addition of the tail line19. Should it be desirable \how.

ever, a cableway 34: may be used, the cableuntil they are substantiallyin alignment eac 1 earth excavated in the emban boom pointing to theopposite machine, and the boom supports will then be placed andconnected. The drag line of the machine 13 may 4thenbe carried over` andattached to..

the end of thedrag line bucket of machine 12,

' and operations are ready to begin.

The first operation accomplished is the excavation ofa trench along adirect line between the machines and the lacing of the` ent. When shchearth has been removed, the boom of machine 13 maybe raised until theshoes are .clear of the ground and the machine 13 moved sideways'thedesireddistance along and parallel to the borrow pit. l This ordinarilydoes not require any movement of the machine 12. Excavation is thencontinued until the available supply is exhausted, and the operationrepeatedv to move the machine still further alon the `borrowpit., -Whenthe movement of te machine 13 isfsuiiicient to throw a perceptibleangular pull on the boom of machine 12 thaboom of that machine can be lythe loading line sheave 33 is'4 respondingly reduced. In such case it isevident that if the head machine be maintained at one location, and thetail machine moved over a considerable distance ua larger concentrationof dirt may be made. Thereafter the machines may be operated alongdiagonal line across the borrow pit and the embankment, with the tailmachine in advance until `such extra amount of dirt may be compensatedfor.

The same `facts and conditions obtain in the operation of the cablewaymachine, as the drag line, this latter method of operation beingespecially advantageous in extremely wet gPOUDd- It will be notedespecially that either of the machines may be disconnected, the boomsupport be removed and the machine be used as an ordinary drag lineshould such an emergency arise. This might be especially pertinent inwet ground where the tail machine -could be used to excavate. a trenchalong the adjacent side of the borrow pit to provide a drainage ditch,from which ditch, ifnecessary, water could be removed by pumpingl andthereafter the machines be hooked up and operate in more or less waterfree dirt.

It will also be notedl that by this method of supporting the boom, thenecessity for heavily counter-weighting the back end of the operatingmachine and also the necessity for back 4guy lines is done away withmaking` the units more portable and thusspeeding up the operation, bothof whichy itemsare essential features of the improvements which I havemade. The outfit is thus 'made much lighter and easily portable ascompared with those outfits in which heavy counter-weighting and/orguying are resorted to.'

Having fully described my invention, what l I claim is: v

1. An excavator, comprising oppositely disposed shiftable dragliuemachines, a head twer carried by one of said machines and a tailtower carried by the other thereof, each shiftable with its respectivemachine and positionable thereby, between said machines, an excavatingbucket between said machines and cables from said machines to. saidbucket whereby the same may be operated along a line between saidmachines.

2. An excavator, comprising oppositely dis osed shiftable drag linemachines, adetac able head tower carried by one of said the outer endsmachines and a detachable tail tower carried by the other thereof, eachshiftable with its respective machine and alignable thereby, betweensaid tween `"said machines and cables from said machines to said bucketwhereby the same may be operated along a line between said machines.

3. An excavator, comprising op ositely disposed drag line machines,space apart, each of said machines including propelling means, a boom, aturn tableL A -frame boom supports, one for the outer end of each boom,swung vfrom and movable by said booms, braces from each machine to thefoot of the corresponding A, and movable therewith; an excavating bucketbetween said machines,

and cables from said machines to said bucket,

passing over the ends of said booms, whereby said machines may bepositioned, said boom supports may be aligned between said machines, andsaid bucket be operated along a line between said machines.

4. An excavator, comprising oppositely disposed drag line machines,spaced apart, each of said machines including propelling means, a boom,and a turn table, A frame boom supports, one for the outer end of eachboom, swung from and movable by said booms, an excavating bucket betweensaid machines, and cables from said machines to said bucket, passingover the ends of said booms, whereby said machines may be positioned,said boom supports may be aligned between said machines, and said bucketbe operated along a line between said machines.

5. An excavator, comprising oppositely disposed drag line machines,spaced apart, each ol" said machines including propelling means, a boom,and a turn table, boom supports for of said booms, each `comprisingshoes, means for spacing said shoes apart, an A frame pivotallyattached'swung from but adapted to support said boom and having its legseach'resting on one of said shoes, and brace arms extending one fromeach of said shoes to the base of said boom and pivotally connectedthereto, an excavating bucket between said machines and cables from saidmachines to said bucket, whereby said machines mav be positioned, saidboom supports may be aligned between said machines and .said bucket beoperated along a line between said machines.

6. An excavator, comprising op ositely dis osed drag line machmes spacela art, eac of said machines including prope lng means, a boom, and aturn table, and detachable boom supports for the outer ends of saidbooms, each comprising shoes, means for spacing said shoes apart, an Aframe pivotally 'attached swun from but adapted to support said boom anhaving its legs each resting on a shoe and brace arms extendin one fromeach of said shoes to the base' o -said .achines, an excavating bucketbeboom and pivotally connected thereto, an excavatin bucket between saidcables rom said machines to machines and said bucket,

whereby said machines may be positioned,

said boom supports may said machines and said be aligned between bucketbe operated along a line between said machines.

In testimony whereof signature.

I hereunto aiiix my FRANK ELWOOD.

